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Police say the two boys, then aged 17, broke into a house in the Northern Lakes north of Brisbane and attacked Lovell and her husband Lee about 11.30pm on Boxing Day.
The mother-of-two died after being stabbed in the chest while her husband was treated in hospital for a stab wound.
The teenager appeared in Brisbane’s Supreme Court today before Justice Tom Sullivan to hear arguments from the prosecution and defense about the sentence he should impose.
The teenager pleaded guilty in March to murder and burglary related to the home invasion.
Judge Sullivan said he would reserve his sentencing decision until next week.
Crown prosecutor David Nardone said he had previously been wrong to say the teenager faced a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Judge Sullivan said previous cases showed a lesser sentence for juvenile offenders convicted of murder.
“It’s 10 years, unless it’s found to be a particularly heinous offense which carries 14 years,” Judge Sullivan said.
Mr. Lovell and his children were present in court and watched as the prosecution played security camera footage of the home invasion.
Mr Lovell told the court he was doing everything he could to bring up his children after losing his wife of 22 years.
“I feel so lost without her… It was so hard to come home. My daughter was afraid they would come back.’
Mr Lovell said his family now faced a life sentence, while the man who killed his wife would not.
Nardone said the teenager was involved in a premeditated crime and stabbed Ms Lovell with such force that the blade of the knife snapped.
“He has broken into premises or homes on 16 occasions … this was his first time entering a home armed and he knew the risks … he increased the risk of injury,” Nardone said.
Security camera footage was released showing the teenager checking the front door and finding it unlocked before walking in ahead of his accomplice.
Soon after, the teenager gets into a physical altercation with Mr and Mrs Lovell while wielding a knife.
Another camera showed the teenagers running down the street as the Lovells collapsed in their driveway.
The Lovells left court as graphic audio of the home invasion played.
The couple’s two teenagers were also asleep in the house when the accomplices broke in.
A barking dog alerted the couple and they tried to push the two intruders out of the house.
The teenager stabbed Ms Lovell in the heart and Mr Lovell in the back before kicking him several times in the head.
The teenager’s defense attorney, Scott Lynch, is also due to make submissions today.
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